NEW DELHI: The telecom regulator Friday extended dates for stakeholder comments on issues in proliferation of broadband through publicWi-Fi networks to August 24 and counter comments till September 7.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had issued the consultation paper on July 13, seeking views on policy or regulatory enablers needed for deployment of ubiquitous citywide Wi-Fi networks and whether additional frequency bands need to de-licenced to promote the technology and deepen broadband penetration.

"Keeping in view the request of stakeholders for extension of time for sending their comments, it has been decided to extend the last date for submission of written comments," the regulator said.

Trai had sought views on measures required to encourage inter-operability between cellular and Wi-Fi networks and also between Wi-Fi networks of multiple service providers in India and overseas and wanted feedback on whether any regulatory and licensing hurdles could potentially hinder growth of Wi-Fi in public places.

It also wanted to know the challenges faced in the authentication procedure for access to Wi-Fi hotspots and ways to ensure simplified access for both domestic users and foreign tourists.

Trai had issued the paper with the aim to boost broadband availability through Wi-Fi in public places, on the grounds that data tariffs on such systems could be a fraction of the prevailing rates on mobile networks, thus making internet accessible to larger set of users.

It had estimated that the "cost per MB" on a Wi-Fi network could be less than 2 paise, or a 10th of the average 23 paise/MB that consumers typically pay for data on 2G, 3G or 4G mobile networks.

Trai had also suggested development of payment platform that allows easy access to Wi-Fi services across internet service providers (ISPs) and through credit cards, payment wallets, bank accounts or other payment instruments.

It has suggested deployment of the Universal Payment Interface of the National Payments Corporation of India for evolving a versatile payment mechanism. Stakeholders will give their views on these aspects.

Consultations on the subject are timely, as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have already launched Wi-Fi hotspots to offload data traffic and ease pressure on their mobile networks. Meanwhile, Jio is slated to do the same after its much awaited commercial launch.